The Cultural Narrative Revolution of the Encryption World: The Rise of the Fat Penguin

Recently, a special avatar trend has emerged in the encryption circle. Many well-known encryption projects have changed their social media avatars to cute chubby penguin images. This seemingly simple collaboration actually reflects a collective recognition of the long-term spirit and brand strategy of Pudgy Penguins, and marks the progress of a grassroots encryption experiment into mainstream culture.

The Fat Penguin is once again the focus, the mystery of the small image "Rebirth"

Recently, Pudgy Penguins has sparked a wave of avatar frenzy in the mainstream encryption circle. Many industry giants, including some well-known trading platforms, investment companies, and payment service providers, have changed their official social media avatars to the secondary creations of Pudgy Penguins.

This is not the first time Pudgy Penguins has drawn such widespread attention. As early as the end of 2024, after completing a large-scale airdrop aimed at the community, many well-known platforms and industry leaders took the lead in changing their avatars to the Fat Penguin. On April 26, 2025, World Penguin Day, Pudgy Penguins officially released a commemorative poster, once again receiving responses from numerous well-known institutions.

The wave of encryption projects changing their avatars reflects support and recognition for the constructive narrative and long-term culture represented by Pudgy Penguins. Many founders in the encryption field are themselves holders of the Pudgy Penguins NFTs.

Unlike the early NFT craze, when changing avatars to blue-chip NFTs was more of a display of social capital, many projects have struggled to maintain their popularity as the market cools down. In contrast, Pudgy Penguins has successfully undergone a business transformation through clear strategic planning, strong operational capabilities, and narrative building.

Beyond Ringing the Bell: Expanding New Horizons with the Power of Mainstream Finance

The brand influence of Pudgy Penguins has transcended the boundaries of the encryption community. A surprising development is that this cute penguin image, which originally only gained popularity in the crypto circle, has now appeared on the stage of traditional financial markets. Driving this crossover is the established investment management company VanEck.

In June 2024, VanEck unexpectedly changed its social media avatar to Pudgy Penguins. Since then, VanEck has not only used the Pudgy Penguins image in its Ethereum ETF promotional video, but also invited Pudgy Penguins to ring the opening bell at Nasdaq when it recently launched its DAPP ETF product. This marks the first time a Web3 native IP has appeared on the global capital market stage, bringing unprecedented brand exposure to Pudgy Penguins and symbolizing its formal recognition by the financial industry.

VanEck's choice to support Pudgy Penguins seems to be a strategy of leveraging publicity. On platforms aimed at traditional investors and mainstream media, VanEck presented the event in a relatively neutral and objective tone. Meanwhile, on social platforms active in the encryption community, the Pudgy Penguins' promotional team vigorously published relevant news, sparking widespread discussion.

More groundbreaking is that Pudgy Penguins is venturing into the financial products sector. Currently, an exchange has submitted application documents for the Canary PENGU ETF to the US SEC. If approved smoothly, PENGU will become the first US ETF product to directly hold MEME or NFT, and is expected to gradually become a core asset in mainstream investment portfolios.

As market sentiment has been driven, the ecosystem of Pudgy Penguins has also seen significant growth. Its NFT floor price has reached a new high in nearly six months, and the price of the token PENGU has also surged, not far from its all-time high.

From a simple avatar image to a cultural consumption brand, and then to a financial asset target, the success story of Pudgy Penguins not only transforms itself into a commercialized, socialized, and even financialized visual asset but also creates a new era of encryption elite culture. This case demonstrates how Web3 projects can break through the limitations of social circles and achieve true commercial value and social impact through long-termism and brand building.